, 1887-10-25
War Among the knights.

Ai's WV =. ulSSClllGlo
from the action taken at the Minneapolis
convention have declared open war with
the executive board of the Knights of
Labor, and have issued their declaration
of independence.
On returning from the convention
about thirty five delegates, representing
thirteen states, stopped In Chicago and
determined TO bring about a reorganiza-
ton of the order. They elected the
proper committee of five members, of
which Charles +. Seib was made secretary.
A long communication was drafted at
Secretary Seib's Office and forwarded in a
circular form to the Knights of Labor all
over the country. The circular starts out
as follows:
TO the rank and file of the Order of
the knights Of Acknowledgement at the
u%surpation Of power and gross violation of
the laws Of the order by those high in
authority; disguised with those whose
loyalty to the present ring has been
gained by the pickings they received as a
reward for their services; incensed at the
tawning sycophants who crawl on their
knees in slavish submission to the most
corrupt, most hypocritical, most autocrat-
&c, and tyranlcal clique that has ever con
trolled any labor organization, we there
fore affirm the motto of our order that
when bad men combine, the good must
associate else they will one by one become
an implied class in a contemplate strug
GLE
1--WE assert that the hour has come
when as honest men and women we de-
clare ourselves independent of those who
have abused the confidence reposed in
them by our order. Our duty to work
ingmen and women demands that we at
once %reorganize the Knights of Labor on
a basis which will secure the autonomy of
trades and districts in all pertaining to
their trade and local affairs, and to pre-
vent it from being used in the future as a
machine to fill the Golfers of designing
and INSCRIPTIONS men, as it is now by
those in power"
The circular then went on at great
lengtr to give the reasons which have
compelled this serious action on our
part" They charge that the general
offices have become the luxurious haunts
of men whose chief aim is to benefit self
pecunIarily and otherwise; that there has
been for more than a year a conspiracy
for the purpose of holding salaried posi-
tons in and under the general assembly;
that this conspiracy had been used in sew
eral channels, and the funds of the order
to manufacture sentiment for certain
members and against others, and that
organizers commissions have been re-
fused to members who are known to disa-
gree with the methods of the ring; that
district and local assemblies have been
suspended or expelled for opposing the
policy OF conspirators; that the records of
the general office have been fixed so as to
rule out or admit, as the case might be,
the general assembly representatives; that
many thousands of dollars of the orders
FUNDS have been illegally expended, fire.
quently against the earnest protests of
honest and law abiding members; that
honest men devoted to the cause of labor
have been made the scapegoats of blum.
dering high officials, and driven in dis
grace from the movement.
Efforts which have been made by the
assemblies to better their condition have
been ~strangled by the ring; the boycott
has been used to iniure the labor press,
union establishments and products of the
Knights of Labor and union labor for the
sole purpose of downing those work
ingmen and women who could not be used
by the c~onspirators. The constitution has
been altered in an illegal Manner; meas
ures impartial to the.lnterests of the order
at large have been railroaded into law
war has been waged by the administration
rings against the trades unions and trades
districts in spite of the orders obligation
TO extend a helping hand to all branches
honorable to all.
Nearly every important strike or lockout
in which the general officers have inter
fered has been lost as a result of this blum
dering and stupidity arbitrary policy on the
part of the administration. The mem
bership of the order has decreased 2lS, 600
members in one year. In spite of this
decrease they have increased the annual
expenditures of the general officers to
$500, 900. In the general assembly argu-
ments were met by buncombe, gag law
was reduced to a system, outrageous
decisions were rendered and appeals and
protests ignored, all for the purpose of
covering up the rascality of those in
power.
The circular requests all local and dis
trict assemblies iii accord with this declar-
alton and desiring information to address
Secretary Seib.